







TP 938 
. S64 
Copy 1 


Varnish Facts 
Worth Knowing 



> > > > >, 
-> » > > : 
»> > > y ° > 


" * * ’•» * J •’>*>> ,’>>>>>, > , , . 
» l . > » i > i > J, a » >, , 


Copyright, 1904, by Edward Smith & Co., N. Y. 














T° the yachtsman, the 
architect, the boat or 
carriage builder, the painter 
and wood finisher who 
wants to know more about 
Varnish, this little book is 
respectfully dedicated. 



LIBRaKY wf CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

MAR 14 1904 

m. Copyright Entry 

1W* 1 






Edwin H. Haven, N. Y. 










V 

VC' 

OW delicately nature 
works out her own artis¬ 
tic creations, yet nature 
never does for man what 
man can do for himself. 
Did you ever notice a piece of 
quartered oak as it comes smooth 
sandpapered from the mill ? How 
gray and lifeless it is. The curious 



“It is a matter of importance that spars should 
receive the best possible varnish finish, and I have 
found nothing which in my opinion equals your Spar 
Coating for the purpose.” 

THE WHITESTONE HOLLOW SPAR & BOAT CO. 

Successors to Spalding St. Lawrence Boat Co. 

J. G. Fraser. Manager. Whitestone Landing, L. I. 


“Best Finish 
for Spars.” 







“Excel 

Others 


markings formed by the growth 
of the tree, the layers of wood 
fiber piled one against the other 
are all there, but you cannot see 
them. 

Varnish is needed to bring 
out the full and true beauty of 
the wood, to reveal its grain and 
show distinctly the beautiful 


“We have been users of your varnishes for a 
number of years and we have found very satisfactory 
results from them.** 

R. C. MOORE, 

Designers and Builders of Gasoline 
and Electric Launches, 

Wayzata, Minn. 




figures which nature has wrought 
for our delight. 

It is varnish that gives the 
mirror like luster to the surface of 
a carriage or railroad car; that 
adds beauty to your furniture, that 
in a thousand and one ways con¬ 
tributes to the joy of living. 

But varnish does more than 


“For Fine 
Residences 


“Your I. X. L. Varnishes, which were used on one 
of the finest residences built in our city this year, gave 
satisfaction in every particular.” 

BAZILLE & PARTRIDGE (Inc.), 

Painters and Decorators, 

St. Paul, Minn, 




u Stand Salt 
Water 
Best ” 

that, it not only beautifies the 
surface to which it is applied but 
by sealing it in an impervious air 
and moisture tight envelope, it 
preserves the structure of the 
material and adds durability to it. 
Varnish keeps the spars of the 
yacht from cracking and splitting; 
preserves the cabins and upper 


“It was back in 1883 that I was first persuaded to 
try Edward Smith & Company’s Spar Coating, and am 
still using it, and although I have tried several manu¬ 
factures of Spar Varnish, none of them stand the sun and 
salt water exposure, and come through a season’s wear 
in better shape.” 

JOHN COLTER, 

Boat Builder and Storage Yard, 


Dorchester, Mass. 




works, the front door and other 
woodwork of the house to which 
it may be applied. 

The measure of this added 
durability and protection is deter¬ 
mined by the quality of the 
varnish. 

Some varnishes are good— 
made of the best quality of mate- 


“Superior 
to Any.” 


“It is over twenty years since we began using your 
Spar Coating. We have found it superior to any we 
have tried.” 

CHAS A. BORDEN & SON, 

Yacht and Boat Designers and Builders, 

Boston, Mass. 




“Best for 
Boats.” 


rial, properly proportioned, good 
honest varnishes that possess ex¬ 
treme durability and afford the 
maximum of protective power— 
varnishes that hold their luster, 
and neither grow dim nor crack 
prematurely. Such varnishes are 
those manufactured by Edward 
Smith & Company. 


“We have used some of your Spar Coating during 
the past season and we are convinced it is the best 
varnish for outside work on boats that can be procured.” 

O. SHELDON CO., 

Builders and Dealers in Boats and Launches, 

Boston, Mass. 




No varnish will dry properly 
if applied in a cold or damp 
atmosphere. Don’t expect to get 
good results if the finishers have 
to work in cold rooms in winter 
time, or if the windows are left 
open on a damp or foggy day 
even in summer. Varnish needs 
a temperature of at least seventy 


“I have used your Varnishes and Japans without a 
break since 1886. Your goods are always reliable and 
I have never found anything to take the place of them 
although I have tried many.” 

C. O. DOUVILLE, 

Greenfield, Mass. 


“Always 

Reliable. 




“A Boat 
Builder's 
Testimony 


degrees, to dry properly. The 
freshly varnished surfaces must 
not be allowed to become chilled 
by the night air. At any season 
of the year, keep the windows 
closed, while varnishing, to avoid 
draughts. 

Don’t expect the finishers to 
produce good results if they are 


“Spar Coating has stood up to every requirement. 
In working and drying qualities it is excellent.” 


W. J. EDWARDS, 

City Point, South Boston, Mass. 




compelled to use varnish in a 
room where carpenters or other 
mechanics are working. The dust 
will cling to the surface of the 
varnish and mar its appearance. 
Dust on the undercoats will hurt 
the looks of the last coat. Before 
varnishing, all the woodwork of 
the room should be completed, 


“I can say with knowledge and good faith that I 
consider your goods leaders.” 

F. D. JOHNSON, 

Peace Dale, R. I. 


“ Leaders ” 




“Best 

Results.” 


the floors swept and lightly 
sprinkled with water to lay the 
dust. 

Don’t expect varnish to hold 
its gloss if it is applied on damp 
or unseasoned lumber. 

Don’t use a varnish intended 
for interior finish on woodwork 
exposed to the weather. Don’t 


“I have used I. X. L. No. 1 and I. X. L. Floor 
Finish for a number of years and find them to give the 
best results.” 

E. A. RALSTON, 

Practical Painter, 

Hamilton, Ohio. 




use anything but a specially 
made, hard wearing varnish on 
floors. 

Given the proper conditions 
and a good varnish, selected for 
the purpose intended, and skilled 
mechanics to apply it, you are 
sure to get good results. 

To insure permanent satisfac- 


“All your varnishes, dryers and shellac are the 
best that I ever used.” 

GEO. D. MANSIR, 

Boat Builder, 

Neponset, Mass. 




tion, these are the varnishes that 
should be used. 

For all work exposed to the 
weather or subject to great varia¬ 
tions in temperature and severe 
atmospheric conditions: 

«uniform Edward Smith & Company’s 

Quality” 

SPAR COATING. 


I have used your Spar Varnish for five years and 
have always found the quality uniform and wearing 
qualities excellent.” 

J. H. FRAZIER, 

Yacht and Boat Builder, 

Marblehead, Mass. 




“I know enough to stick to a good 
thing when I have it. I have used only 
Edward Smith & Company’s Spar 
Varnish and Spar Under coating for many 
years. Six hundred small boats and 
canoes, so far for 1903, and no com¬ 
plaints.” 

J. H. RUSHTON, 

Canton, N. Y. 


“Knows a 
Good Thing 
When He 
Finds It and 
Sticks to /£.” 



“Satisfied 
Customer 
Since 1843.” 


“ The enclosed document fully iden¬ 
tifies the first transaction in September, 
1843. . . . During all this long period 
that our Senior has had business relations 
with your house there has never arisen 
anything to mar the kindly feeling that 
has always existed, and his memories of 
the connection, we can assure you, are 
all pleasant ones.” 

Yours very truly, 

L. W. CARROLL & SON, 

Dealers in Dye Stuffs, Paints, Norwich, Conn. 

Oils, Glass, Etc. 

March 13, 1899. 



Other varnishes may be made 
of good materials, but lack of ex¬ 
perience on the part of the manu¬ 
facturer has resulted in improper 
proportioning of the gums and oils 
that go to make up the varnish, 
or improper blending of the dif¬ 
ferent grades or kinds of gum to 
produce a varnish best adapted 


“Your Spar Coating stands all through the season, 
on our deck house and spars, coming out in the Fall 
looking solid and but little dimmed after the hardest 
kind of exposure.” 

Capt. J. K. GRAY, 

Steam Yackt Duchess, 


Quincy, Mass. 


“Stands Hard 
Exposure 




“Best 
Varnish for 
Boat Work . 


to the use to which this particular 
varnish is to be put. Or the 
manipulation of the materials dur¬ 
ing the processes of manufacture 
may not have been exactly right. 
Honest intentions on the part of 
the manufacturer have failed to 
produce satisfactory results. 

Edward Smith & Company 


“I have used your varnish for a number of years 
and am thoroughly convinced that it is the best varnish 
for boat work. This fact was especially demonstrated in 
the case of ‘Minnesota,* which was finished in natural 
wood with Spar Coating, and, while she was kept in the 
water most of the time, the varnish never turned white. 
That is more than I can say of any other varnish.’* 

GUS AMUNDSON, 

Designer and Builder Boats and Yachts, 

White Bear Lake, Minn. 




have been manufacturing high 
grade varnishes since 1827 . 
More than three-quarters of a 
century’s experience goes into 
every package. 

Again there are other manu¬ 
facturers who may know how to 
make good varnish, but who think 
it more profitable to cater to a 


“My experience with your products has very con¬ 
clusively proved their superiority to other varnishes.’ 

V. P. BUCKLEY, 

San Francisco, Cal. 

“We have sold your varnish for quite a number of 
years and it has given satisfaction to our customers.’’ 

S. P. BLACKBURN & CO., 

Ship Chandlery and Engineer’s Supplies, 

Boston, Mass. 


Superiority 




“Extremely 
Satisfactory.” 


demand for cheapness. They 
use common materials instead of 
the more expensive grades of 
copal, linseed oil and turpentine. 
And there are painters who, pre¬ 
ferring cheapness to quality, buy 
such varnishes, well knowing that 
their luster will not be permanent 
and that the varnished surface 


“I have used your Spar Coating and I. X. L. No. 1 
for the past six years, and have always found them 
extremely satisfactory. 1. X. L. rubs exceptionally 
nice.” 

NEIL M. MUIRHEAD, 

Bridgeport, Conn. 




will soon begin to perish. And 
when the owner becomes dissat¬ 
isfied with the appearance of the 
house interior, the yacht, the fur¬ 
niture, or what not, finished with 
such an apology for varnish, it 
costs far more to clean it off—if 
indeed it can be cleaned off— 
than the extra cost of the good 


“I have used your Spar Coating, I. X. L. No. 1 
and Pale Japan Dryer over twelve years and I am well 
pleased with them in all respects.” 

C. H. SMITH, 

Builder of Yachts and Boats, 

Noank, Conn. 


Well Pleased , 
Quality 
Never 
Changes 




varnish. There’s no economy in 
the use of cheap varnishes. 

The name of Edward 
Smith & Company is never found 
on packages of varnish of this 
inferior quality. We value the 
reputation we have won by 

“Satisfactory , r 1 . 

Varnishes.” seventy-seven years ot honest 
varnish making too highly to risk 


“The varnishes that I have been buying from you 
for some time past have given perfect satisfaction.” 

J. W. DOAN. 

Coatesville, Pa. 

“Your Spar and Coach Varnishes are all right.” 

S. H. BICKFORD, 

Fitchburg, Mass. 



its loss by placing our name or 
trade-mark on any material that 
experience has taught us will 
surely prove unsatisfactory. 

But even the best of varnishes 
may fail to give satisfaction by 
reason of improper treatment at 
the hands of the wood finisher, 
or by use under conditions that 


“ I have used your Spar Coating, also your I. X. L. 
No. 1, twenty years. For thorough reliability in the 
finest class of yacht and boat work, your varnish is the 
standard for me.’* 

AMBROSE A. MARTIN, 

Yacht and Boat Builder, 

East Boston, Mass. 


“The 

Standard,” 




"No Com¬ 
plaint in 
Ten Years 
Use ” 


will injure any varnish, no matter 
how carefully or honestly it may 
be made. 

Good varnish is a material 
that is sensitive to unfavorable 
conditions. Although it gives far 
better results than poor varnish, 
when it is properly treated, it 
resents careless manipulation. 


“We have used your Spar Coating on our yacht 
blocks for over ten years and have found it thoroughly 
satisfactory in every respect.” 

WALTER COLEMAN & SONS, 

Manufacturers of Tackle Blocks, 

Providence, R. 1. 




“Having used your Spar Coating 
under the usual severe conditions of sea 
and coast service, gladly testify to its 
excellent wearing qualities and fine 
appearance.” 

JOHN E. THOMPSON, 

Steamer Harriet. 

WM. F. KIRBY, 

Sloop Shannon. 

FRED PERRY, 

Schooner Ingomar. 


“What 
Three Yacht 
Captains 
Say.” 



X. L. 
Floor Finish 
Satisfactory 


For interior finish of houses, 
yachts and other structures, 
Edward Smith & Company’s 

I. X. L. PRESERVATIVE 
COATINGS. 

For floors, Edward Smith 
& Company’s 

I. X. L. FLOOR FINISH 


“I have used your I. X. L. Floor Finish for several 
years and can truthfully say that I cannot recall a case 
where it has not given perfect satisfaction.” 

CHAS. W. WANNER, 

House Painter, 

Reading, Pa, 




For white or cream enamel 
work in buildings or on yachts, 
steamships, etc., Edward Smith 
& Company’s 

STRUCTURAL 

ENAMELS. 

Summing up the entire testi¬ 
mony of those who have used 




them, the verdict is that Edward 
Smith & Company’s Varnishes 
and Preservative Coatings are 
unexcelled and always give satis¬ 
faction. 




Seventy-Seven Years' 
Experience 



This trade-mark for 
quality. 

Yours for satisfaction 


Edward Smith & Company 

VARNISH MAKERS AND COLOR GRINDERS 

45 Broadway , New York 
59 Market Street , Chicago , III. 


ESTABLISHED EIGHTEEN TWENTY-SEVEN 








/ 














































141*04 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



0 033 266 778 6 



TRADE MARK 





















































% 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

lllllBllllllllllllllllllll 

0 033 266 778.6 


















